Mets vs Phillies Recap: Bank shots

The Mets continued their absolute dominance of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon, toppling the Phillies 6-2. The Mets took three of four this series, and the team put together a nice game, despite a mediocre performance from Mets starter Chris Flexen.

The Mets started the game off with a double off the bat of Curtis Granderson. Just two batters later, Granderson was driven in by a two-run home run by Michael Conforto, his 26th of the season. That marked Conforto’s fifth straight hit that was a home run, which sounds great in theory, but really means he’s only had five hits since August 5th. That’s not to sully how awesome Conforto is, but he’s become pretty all or nothing with the bat over the last week or so.

Chris Flexen started for the Mets, and loaded the bases almost as quickly as humanly possible in the bottom of the first. Cesar Hernandez singled to start the game, Freddy Galvis walked, and Odubel Herrera added his own single, before Flexen recorded a single out. Rhys Hoskins grounded into a fielder’s choice, allowing Hernandez to score the Phillies’ first run.

Zach Eflin started for the Phillies and looked strong after the Conforto home run. In the second through the fourth innings, he only allowed one baserunner, a single to Travis d’Arnaud. In the fifth, he gave up a double down the left field line to Jose Reyes, who started today at shortstop, giving Amed Rosario the day off. Two batters later, Granderson pulled a ball into the right-field stands to put the Mets up 4-1.

In the bottom of the fifth, Flexen looked the shakiest that he had all day. In a near repeat of the first inning, Flexen loaded the bases without recording an out, allowing a lead-off single to Galvis, a walk to Herrera, and a single - the first of his Major League career - to Hoskins. What happened next was really bizarre.

Nick Williams hit a fly ball to medium center field, and Galvis tagged up, but did not go home, despite what appeared to be plenty of time to score. Conforto’s throw to the plate was off-line, and d’Arnaud bobbled the ball, but Galvis was already committed to staying put. Who wasn’t committed to that idea was Herrera who, after d’Arnaud batted the ball around, took off for third base, seemingly unaware of the fact that Galvis was standing on the bag. A toss down to Wilmer Flores, and Hererra was tagged out.

Of course, Galvis scored on a wild pitch to Maikel Franco one batter later, so the weird double play didn’t get the Mets out of the inning. But it did, most likely, stem the bleeding a bit. Franco eventually ground out, ending Flexen’s afternoon after five innings. Over his start, he struck out five, and walked four, allowing six hits over 98 pitches.

In the seventh inning, Jose Reyes collected an infield single against Edubray “Throwing at Asdrubal Cabrera’s head”Ramos. Reyes then stole second, and scored on Curtis Granderon’s one-out single. The aforementioned Cabrera did not get thrown at, but did reach base on an error by Ramos, who made a terrible throw to first base. After a Conforto fly out, Granderson scored on a Flores single, putting the Mets up 6-2.

The Mets bullpen looked quite good today, with Chasen Bradford continuing his effective stint in the big leagues, needing only seven pitches to get through the sixth inning. Jerry Blevins got into a little trouble in the seventh, allowing a double to Hernandez and a walk to Hoskins, but got through the inning unscathed. Paul Sewald and AJ Ramos each pitched perfect innings to secure the win.

The Mets travel to the Bronx tomorrow for the first of their four game set with the Yankees. Rafael Montero starts for the Mets, while the elusive “TBA” starts for the Yankees.

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What’s WPA?

Big winners: Curtis Granderson, +29.6% WPA, Michael Conforto, +11.1% WPA
Big losers: None
Teh aw3s0mest play: Curtis Granderson’s two-run home run in the fifth
Teh sux0rest play: Asdrubal Cabrera’s first inning pop out.
Total pitcher WPA: +24.9% WPA
Total batter WPA: +25.1% WPA
GWRBI!: Curtis Granderson